Overtime policy slows repairs, frustrating Equestria residents

Residents in Equestria are frustrated over the delayed turnaround time for service requests and recurring service delivery failures.

They are citing multiple water and power outages occurring in short spaces of time.

The residents claim that many water and power outages occur due to the negligence of contractors, poor service request response, and recent policy changes.

Raised concerns about several unresolved municipal issues, including open fire hydrants, persistent water leaks, unattended excavations, and damaged road surfaces. They remain unaddressed following multiple escalations.

A new resident in Equestria said her first few weeks in the area have been riddled with water outages, power outages, and poor turnaround times.

Elsie Venter said she moved to Equestria about a month ago from Silverton and is frustrated with the water challenges in the area.

“The ward councillor is trying her best to communicate with the residents, but Tshwane [metro] is just not coming to the party,” Venter said.

She said service delivery in Equestria is declining.

“Water [and power] outages are a nightmare in the area, and I think the new overtime rule makes service delivery weak, as they do not attend to power outages at night.”

Some residents have claimed that in the last five weeks, some parts of Equestria have had multiple pipe bursts, which contractors then damage or take days to repair, leading to wasted water.

Another resident, Frankie Cornelius, said the new overtime rules have slowed down the progress of service delivery.

“What used to be done in hours now takes days to be resolved. The city has introduced these overtime rules at the expense of ratepayers,” he said.

Cornelius said the current state of service delivery is terrible, and unattended excavations, trenches, and damaged road surfaces remain unaddressed.

“It now takes up to a day or two to repair water leaks, as the city claims that the technicians prioritise huge leaks. It is all because of their overtime rules.”

Ward 85 councillor Jacqui Uys said Equestria has had five weeks, during which they either had no water or no electricity.

“Clearly, we have a failing government that does not care. We have gotten through events like this in the past by standing together.”

Uys said the ANC’s recent policy change on overtime has negatively impacted service delivery.

“The policy dictated that no work is allowed to be done after 22:00. Just last week, there was a power outage in Equestria and residents were left without power for 13 hours for a mere trip that had to be switched on.”

She agrees that the abuse of overtime must be curbed, but said this cannot happen at the expense of residents.

“The city needs to put the needed management checks in place, while serving its residents,” Uys explained.

She said the water infrastructure seems to be completely failing in her ward, all due to the metro’s negligence.

“We have about 20 outstanding water-related work [requests] just in Equestria, and some of these issues date back as far as last September.”

She said there are multiple open excavations in the area that have been left unattended, including those at the corner of Farm Road and Ouklipmuur Avenue, along Kordaat Avenue, and on Rossouw Street between Gordon Verster Road and Swaardlelie Avenue.

In addition, several road surfaces are in urgent need of repair, specifically at the corner of Wakis and Verkenner, Vuurklip, the corner of Witogie and Opstal, and the corner of Oulandaloop and Spoelklip.

In terms of declining service delivery claims due to new overtime rules, Mashigo emphasised that the city will stand by its decision to limit overtime hours.
He said it’s a move aimed at aligning with labour legislation and strengthening the responsible use of public resources.

“This approach has already resulted in significant savings, particularly by reducing overtime-related expenditure and curbing non-essential resource consumption.

“The policy is not a cost-cutting exercise but a strategic response to long-standing issues repeatedly highlighted by the Auditor-General of South Africa.”

Mashigo said one of the key concerns raised was the routine overuse of overtime for standard operational duties.

“In some departments, especially the Electricity Division, employees were clocking in up to 100–120 overtime hours monthly, over and above the regular 160 working hours,” he said.

“Such practices are both unsustainable and non-compliant with the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, which limits overtime and sets a 40-hour weekly work threshold.”

He said the Auditor-General also noted that this excessive overtime often substituted for normal work, enabling abuse, contributing to poor work practices, and resulting in material losses.

“While the AGSA and the city’s Collective Bargaining Agreement allow overtime beyond the legal limit, this is strictly under exceptional circumstances, such as responding to voltage outages, substation failures or damaged infrastructure.”

He said to ensure efficiency, the city has now limited overtime to 20:00 on weekdays and from 07:30 to 20:00 at weekends.

“This schedule ensures that resources are focused on peak demand periods when electricity services are most critical.”

Mashigo said for the first time in five years, Tshwane is operating on a fully cash-funded budget, a testament to improving financial health.

“This progress also allows for better year-round service delivery, and it must also be noted that the strain on service teams, especially during winter, is largely due to illegal electricity connections, rampant infrastructure vandalism, and cable theft, not the overtime policy.”

He added that these issues place a heavy burden on response teams and remain a separate but urgent area of intervention.

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